Local Brothers Bring A Different Flavor to the Pine Hills

March 8, 2010

by Jennifer Finn

Albany, NY, – While traveling down Madison Avenue through the historic Pine Hills neighborhood a passerby may notice a trend in the local shops and restaurants. Numerous bars and pizza shops line either side of the street. Many of them are locally owned and are unique in their own respect but the area at first may seem to lack variety. The Pine Hills is not just a street, however, it is an entire neighborhood and a turn down Ontario Street will lead to a bright yellow sun painted on the front window of a small eatery.

Welcome to Bros Tacos, a business started by the Daniels brothers in May, 2007. Josh Daniels, 34, owns Bros with his brother Adam. Josh has traveled all over the world and even spent eight months in Honduras, where he also met his wife, Amanda. However, as Josh explains, they grew up a few blocks away from the restaurant. Daniels , who has taught Spanish at local schools such as Giffen Elementary school, is a graduate of the nearby College of Saint Rose.

“It was hard to find places like this around here,” Daniels said. At Bros Tacos the food is always fresh and the tortillas are hand made. “I wanted to serve good food in a comfortable, non-commercial, laid back type atmosphere,” Daniels said. This is apparent in the variety of knickknacks and décor around the small store. Everything from t-shirts to Honduran pottery is for sale on the walls and the items are surrounded by lights, posters, and photographs.

Bros Tacos has been hailed by many since its opening almost three years ago. It was voted “Best Tacos” by readers in the Meteroland’s “Best of 2009.” “Sometimes an eatery appears on the scene and redefines its category,” begins the small description underneath the winning shop. The small blurb goes on to describe Bros menu options as “…little masterpieces in their wrappers of corn.”

What seems to get people’s attention is the diverse options at low prices that Bros has to offer. In a review of the restaurant for the Times Union Joseph Dalton wrote, “What goes into the tacos is the really unusual part. The menu’s list of ‘specialty tacos’ ($2.75) includes a variety of unexpected ingredients, such as beer-battered fish, pineapple shrimp and barbecued chicken.”

The desserts are also something to talk about between their infamous brownies ($1.75) and their monkey rolls which consist of bananas, chocolate, and coconut which are deep fried in a soy wrap and topped with powdered sugar ($4.75) But as important as the food and atmosphere is to the stores success there is another key factor: location.

“We wanted something close to Madison and there was nothing really here before,” Daniels said. “Before we were here there was a laundry place and then a flower shop and after that the owner was just looking to sell.” Daniels goes on to discussion the issue of crime in the student area, “there isn’t a lot of crime just college kids being loud and having fun.” Daniels expressed that he would of course like to expand and when asked why the Capital Region was the choice for Bros he simply replied, “I just like it around here.”
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